U2 to buy Hanover Quay site

U2 are to buy the site where they recorded many of their best-selling albums after the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) agreed to sell it for about €450,000.

The authority forced the band to sell its old riverfront studio on Hanover Quay for an undisclosed price in 2002 to allow public amenity works relating to the development of the Grand Canal Harbour area. As part of that deal the authority promised the band the top two floors of the 32-storey tower it was planning to build on an adjacent quay, a project that was subsequently put on hold.

The authority said in a statement issued on Tuesday that in light of its imminent dissolution and the recent approval by An Bord Plenala for the North Lotts and Grand Canal Planning scheme, it would not be proceeding with a proposed compulsory purchase order of 16 and 18 Hanover Quay.

It said that Jones Lang LaSalle, acting on behalf of U2, was to acquire the authority’s interest in the site at 16 Hanover Quay.

The historic site is where U2 recorded many of their best-known albums.

http://www.irishtimes.com/

'The Job Of Art'

1. 

Dorian Lynskey's interview with the band in The Observer newspaper in the UK today, is a great read. Here's some  highlights.

On the album release through iTunes:

''We were already annoying people, it was already divisive, it was already, 'I can't stand them, I want to kill them.' It's the job of art to be divisive.' (Bono)

'I absolutely had my doubts about it before we did it, and after, but it was the right thing to do. It was an opportunity that will only ever come around once for anybody. I don't think anyone would want to do it again.' (Edge)

'The plan wasn't to be controversial. In today's world there is so much chatter, so in order to get through the chatter I'm afraid we are destined to make a very loud noise ourselves.' (Adam)

On Losing A Mother:

'If someone were to do an analysis of the singers and writers in rock'n'roll, you'd be shocked by how many lost their mother. You're just at the age where you're discovering girls and the woman who brought you into the world exits stage left in a very dramatic way. But what's more interesting is the rage that follows grief. Where do you put it? Music arrives in my life as an emancipation and punk rock gives me a place to howl. It's literally turning your shit into gold records.' (Bono)

'Everything I thought that would be was no longer. Everything was broken, Like home, that was just gone, everything was gone. So my thing was to find somewhere else to go. I needed another family and the band became that for me and it was a refuge. ...'   (Larry)

On Punk:

'People were either turned on by it or completely repulsed. It was something that defined you.  It makes me start to twitch when music is smooth, like a beautiful soundtrack to your life. Music has become wallpaper, a commodity, something going on in the background. That's why I love Kanye West because he's like, 'Take this! I'm with him. Let's not make it comfortable...' (Edge) 

On Being In A Band:

'The reason that  we do this is because we are incomplete and being in the band allows people who are slightly broken to feel fixed for that period of time.' (Larry)

On Being In The Middle of A Howling Argument:

'Why do I write songs about political violence? Where is that coming from. It's very disturbing to think that my teenage life was largely dominated by memories of violence and that my worldview was shaped by that. It might mean some sort of psychological flaw in me, but I feel most comfortable in the middle of the biggest, noisiest, most chaotic howling argument.' (Bono)

http://www.u2.com/

Andrea Corr on U2

The Corrs singer Andrea Corr spoke to Q about why she thinks U2 are the most influential band of the past 25 years, describing Bono, The Edge and co as a "unique and incredible band to watch perform.


The Corrs' Andrea Corr on why U2's Bono & The... por Qmagazine


http://www.dailymotion.com/Qmagazine

One More Ice Cream for Larry...

'Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience became the model for what we were doing... you get to go back and rediscover that innocence of being in a band, those joyous melodies and write about the things that formed you.'



www.u2.com

Bono and Edge on Italian TV

The frontman and guitarist of U2, absent for 14 years from theItalian screens  , present the new album from the Irish band "Songs of Innocence" , due out October 13 . During the interview the two interpreted "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone ) "

Every Breaking Wave" - Che tempo che fa



http://www.rai.tv/

Bono’s track-by-track guide to U2′s Songs Of Innocence

U2’s latest studio album Songs of Innocence was officially released on Friday — after weeks of bluster and endless whiney blog posts about the band launching it for free on iTunes. 

Songs of Innocence, more than any other LP before it, is inspired by the band’s teenage years in Dublin in the 70s.

“It’s a Dublin album, all about being teenagers on the northside and how our city shaped us both as men and musicians,” said Bono.

He also revealed: “There’s a poet called William Blake who had a big influence on me growing up, and he had two books of poetry, Songs Of Innocence and Songs Of Experience.”

The Star provides a song-by-song guide to U2’s album and the inspirations behind each track:

1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)

Bono sings about the musical hero of his childhood Joey Ramone and the first time he heard the Ramones when he sings: “The most beautiful sound I ever heard.”
Bono has always claimed the 70s NYC punk icon was one of his greatest influences, as he wasn’t an obvious punk singer, saying: “I heard Joey Ramone, who sang like a girl, and that was my way in.”

2. Every Breaking Wave

The lyrics suggest a looming breakup and more adult concerns like the struggles of a long-term relationship.
In the album liner notes Bono states: “Edge remembers meeting his first love Aislinn outside their first Ramones concert in the State Cinema in Dublin.”

3. California (There Is No End to Love)

With a sound that’s a homage to the Beach Boys, Bono has revealed it’s about the group’s first trip to California in the early 1980s.
“LA seemed the polar opposite of Dublin,” said Bono. “I remember Edge, Adam, Larry and me getting off the plane in California and looking at each other like, ‘This is better than the movies’ and that was just the airport!”

4. Song for Someone

This song is about first love and is believed to be inspired by Bono’s wife Ali. The couple first met when Bono was 13 and Ali was 12.
He said: “If there is a kiss I stole from your mouth, and if there is a light, don’t let it go out.”

5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
Bono was 14 when his mother Iris died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 1974.
The most emotionally raw song on the album, the confronts a boy’s sudden loss of his mother. “I owe Iris,” Bono says on the album credits. “Her absence I filled with music.”

6. Volcano
Bono writes and sings about the rage of an angry young man wrestling with the loss of his mother, with the words:  “Something in you wants to blow.”

7. Raised by Wolves
This song tells the story of Bono and his friend’s recollections of the Dublin car-bombings in 1974.
The song lyrics include: “Boy sees his father crushed under the weight/ Of a cross in a passion where the passion is hate.”

8. Cedarwood Road
Bono grew up on 10 Cedarwood Road in Dublin with pals Guggi Rowan and Gavin Friday, with whom he remains close to this day. You can’t return to where you never left,” Bono sings.

9. Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
The dark lyrics of this song refer to the child abuse scandals and the blame of the Catholic Church, with the biting words: “You dress in the colours of forgiveness, Your eyes as red as Christmas, Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair.”

10. This Is Where You Can Reach Me
The song is inspired by a Clash concert that U2 attended in 1977 and is a love song to the band’s Joe Strummer.
“We signed our lives away,” Bono sings.

11. The Troubles
The song is more about Bono and the loss of his mother at an early age than anything about the North.
“I have a will for survival/ So you can hurt me/ Then hurt me some more/ I can live with denial/ But you’re not my troubles anymore,” he sings.

l The deluxe version of Songs of Innocence includes bonus tracks Lucifer’s Hands, which deals with control, as Bono sings: “I can change the world, but I can’t change the world in me.”
Another song, The Crystal Ballroom harks back to the band’s youth, as it used to be the name of McGonagles pub in Dublin, which is now knocked down.
The other two extra tracks are alternative versions of The Troubles and Sleep Like a Baby Tonight.


http://www.thestar.ie/

Edge thinks about singing solo on album

The Edge has entertained thoughts about recording a solo studio album.

"I have occasionally thought about it, and I'm singing more than I have ever sung. I even contemplate the idea that I might sing something on a solo album. But there's never any time," the musician said.

"To be honest, if I was to carve out a month or two and knock out a solo album, I know I would not be happy with it. I would torture myself and run out of time and it wouldn't be fun."

"And that's the thing about working with U2 that I figured out early on when I actually did a few solo things. Whatever about it giving you the opportunity to express your artistic instincts without any other people ruining them; it's so much fun to be in a band. It's so much more fun to work with U2 than doing a solo thing."

He was speaking to TXFM Drive host Joe Donnelly to mark the release of the band's album, Songs of Innocence.

Speaking about the now infamous iTunes deal, where users were given the album for free, The Edge said: "You can't please everyone. It's a free album."

"But, I do understand for some people they felt it was an unwelcome gift. I mean, I was saying to Bono, in our heads we were leaving a free carton of milk on people's doorsteps but actually what happened is, it was placed in their fridge".

hnews@herald.ie